The present disclosure relates in general to systems and methodologies for implementing a restricted-operation region for unmanned vehicles. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to systems and methodologies for defining a restricted-operation region and implementing an operation policy for controlling the operation of an unmanned vehicle that attempts to operate within the restricted-operation region.
Unmanned vehicles (UVs) include unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) and unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs). UVs have been developed for both civilian and military use to perform a variety of dangerous activities. For example, UVs can be used for applications where it may be inconvenient, dangerous or impossible to have a human operator present. UVs may be expendable or recoverable and can be operated autonomously or remotely. Historically, a significant use of UVs has been in the areas of intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance. Accordingly, a typical UV includes cameras and other surveillance equipment that capture intelligence.
UAVs are defined as powered aerial vehicles sustained in flight by aerodynamic lift over most of their flight path and guided without an onboard crew. UGVs are defined as vehicles that operate while in contact with the ground and without an onboard human presence. In a typical configuration, the UGV includes a set of sensors to observe the environment. The UGV will typically either autonomously make decisions about its behavior or pass the information to a human operator at a different location who will control the vehicle remotely.
Although UVs have a long history of military use, their commercial and consumer uses are more recent. Federal, state and local laws have struggled to develop consistent and coherent regulations covering commercial and consumer uses of UVs. The actual and potential problems with commercial and consumer use of UVs are numerous including infringement of privacy rights, breach of civil aviation regulations and data protection issues. The proliferation of consumer UVs has generated news stories about unfortunate occurrence involving consumer UVs. One example of such an occurrence reportedly involved a consumer UAV that flew into a fireworks show to capture aerial video of the fireworks. The UAV crashed into the middle of the crowd injuring at least one person before it was immobilized with a chair leg. UAVs may be damaged during flight in a way that would prevent the operator from safely operating the device, resulting in a “fly-off” or a crash landing into spectators. UAV flights into fireworks shows may also be unsafe because of the increased risk of hazardous debris (from the fireworks or the UAV) falling into spectator areas. There is also the possibility that a firework colliding with a UAV may divert the pyrotechnic downward into spectator areas, causing it to detonate where it otherwise should not.
Geo-fencing is a feature that uses the global positioning system (GPS) or radio frequency identification (RFID) to define geographical boundaries. Geo-fencing is often utilized in software programs to act as a virtual barrier. Programs that incorporate geo-fencing allow an administrator to set up triggers such that when a device enters (or exits) the boundaries defined by the administrator, a text message or email alert is sent. Geo-fencing technology has been proposed for application in several systems. For example, a network administrator can set up alerts such that when a hospital-owned iPad leaves the hospital grounds, the administrator can disable the device. A marketer can geo-fence a retail store in a mall and send a coupon to a customer who has downloaded a particular mobile app when the customer (and his/her smart phone) crosses the boundary.
It has been proposed to apply the concepts of geo-fencing to a UAV in order to keep the UAV within a prescribed area.